AmateurRadio.com

It was a beautiful day here in Central NJ. At lunch time it was sunny and 63F (17C).  Time to head outdoors!

I only get an hour for lunch, so I have to squeeze in all I can.  The best thing, is that the park near my work QTH is only 5 minutes away. Once I get to the parking lot, it’s only about a 100 yard walk to the picnic table area.  So within 10 minutes from exiting the building, I was shooting a line into a tree to get the PAR up in the air.

That went VERY well.  I shot the fishing weight over a suitable limb, and the fishing reel fed out the line smoothly and easily.  I pulled the antenna up, set up the KX3 and was listening to 20 Meters lickety-split.  To my dismay however, 20 Meters seemed – DEAD!  What now?  I didn’t want to head back so quickly, so I switched over to 40 Meters. As I expected, there wasn’t too much going on there, either.  So I cycled the KX3’s band button on up to 17 Meters. Eureka!  Stations – LOUD stations – but how would the PAR tune?  Since it’s the PAR ENDFEDZ 10/20/40 MKII, it’s really only meant to operate on either 10, 20 or 40 Meters.  I hit the KX3’s tune button expecting the worst.  I was pleasantly surprised!  The tuner brrrrrp’ed for all of about 2 or 3 seconds – not long at all.  When you have a really bad situation, the autotuner can grind on for what seems like hours.  But it matched the wire rather easily and before long, I was tuning around the band in earnest.

I worked Gun OE3CGU in Austria who has great ears and boundless patience.  I doubt I ever worked so hard to give a 599 report.  I got a (generous) 339 in return, which I kind of expected.  Thanks for your efforts, Gun!  From there I decided to call CQ to see what would happen. The response was gratifying, as Mike KD5CB answered my very first CQ.  Mike was located in Hillsboro, TX which was kind of neat, as Hillsboro, NJ was all of about 5 miles away from where I was sitting. Mike had a booming 599 plus signal into NJ and I received a 579 in return.  Mike was using an IC-7200 at 600 Watts to an 80 Meter Delta Loop.  The surprising thing was our respective weather situations.  While it was sunny and relatively warm here, Mike was experiencing temperatures in the low 40s (5C) with a good stiff wind. Who would have thought that Texas would have been colder than New Jersey? We spoke for a bit before I had to tear down and head back to work. It just so happened that Mike got his own call to lunch at just the same time.  All in all, it was a nice little rag chew.

I love operating from outdoors and I enjoy Jim W1PID’s stories.  I can very easily understand why he likes outdoor operating so much. In fact, when you have a routine down and things go well, it’s downright addicting!

To borrow a line from Monty Python, “And now for something completely different!” I’d like to take this opportunity to rant a little. All my readers need to regularly read another blog – N8ZYA’s Radio Blog.  If you don’t read John’s blog on a regular basis, you are doing yourself an extreme disservice. If you are a QRPer, his blog (and John K3WWP’s diary and Website) should be considered “Required Reading”. Whenever you run into some smart-alec, know-it-all type who gets into your face with “Life is too short for QRP” or “QRP doesn’t work” or “What can you do with 5 puny Watts – work across town?”  comments …… direct them to John’s blog.  No stopping, no dilly-dallying ….. right to John’s blog.

 Read his post for today – “100 Days of DX”.  Then consider the fact that these 100 days of DX contacts were accomplished with an INDOOR random wire antenna with about 3 Watts of power.  John’s stats speak for themselves – QRP works and it works well.  AND, as a bonus – with enough time and experience, it WILL make you a top notch operator.  I could give you the call signs of about 20 – 30 QRPers right off the top of my head, who are all A1 Ops – and if they’re not in the A1 Op Club, they darn well should be.

If you’re a new QRPer …… yes, at times this niche of the hobby may seem daunting. Heck, it might seem darn near impossible to you; but it’s not. Even if QRP is frustrating for you from the beginning, the proof is in the pudding.  Never give up – never throw in the towel.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

A special greeting – A very Blessed Good Friday and a very Happy Easter to all my Orthodox friends who are celebrating the Pascha this weekend!

From Rem K6BBQ – QRPer and videographer extraordinaire:

From KB3ZHX – not strictly QRPTTF, but this video was done on the same day as QRPTTF (mostly Florida QSO Party QSOs – but hey, they counted towards QRPTTF!):

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

I needed to re-spool the fishing reel on my antenna launcher.

My first version used a plastic tent peg as a platform.  The sling shot was held in place by a bolt and nut going into the handle from the bottom.  This ultimately proved to be a weak point as the plastic handle of the sling shot broke over time from the stress at that point.

So when I bought new fishing line, I also bought another 8 inch corner brace.

I’ve been practicing in the park and I’ve been getting my 1 ounce fishing weight to get over branches 50 – 60 feet high with no problems.  I have discovered one thing, though.  My fishing weights (not the one in the photos) are painted bright yellow.  I think I am going to re-paint them with a very bright orange paint.  The yellow ones are a bit hard to notice when they fall onto the grass amid a bunch of dandelions!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

The NJQRP Club is announcing the Second Annual ” Skeeter Hunt”.  The objective is to get QRPers out of their shacks for the day; and into the fresh air and sunshine, to spread their wings and fill the airwaves with “Skeeters”.  While commercial equipment can certainly utilized, bonus multipliers will be awarded for those who personally home brewed their own or kit built their own equipment (equipment not built by the operator would not count as either home brewed or kit built – it would be considered commercial equipment).  This year, the event is to be held on Sunday August 11th.  It will be a four hour sprint – from 17:00 UTC to 21:00 UTC (1:00 TO 5:00 PM EDT).

The theme for this year is “bodies of water”.  We all know that Skeeters love the water.  While we don’t want you going anywhere near actual Skeeter breeding grounds, we encourage operating near any local rivers, brooks, creeks, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, or even near a bay or the sea shore!  Please make sure to take pictures and tell us about it in your Soapbox comments. (Bird baths, swimming pools, old tires filled with water, buckets, Dixie cups, etc. will NOT count for the contest!)

Stations who wish to be designated as “Skeeters” can get a Skeeter number by requesting one by sending an e-mail to [email protected]  Please let me know if you intend to operate from a state other than your home state as listed on QRZ. Skeeter numbers will be issued from May through the day before the event. The official Website for the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt is http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/

Station Classes and Multipliers
X1 Home stations – commercial equipment
X2 Home stations – home brewed or kit built equipment
X3 Portable station – commercial equipment
X4 Portable station – home brewed or kit built equipment

Portable stations cannot use permanent antennas, i.e you can’t work from your backyard, hook up to your dipole or tower and yagi and be considered a portable station. Also, portable stations cannot be connected to the local power grid – alternative energy sources must be used – solar, battery, wind, etc.

Multi-Op Stations: – Great idea!  Want to get together with some of your best buds to have a barbeque and hunt some Skeeters?  FB deal, OM!  When you send in your log, send the calls of everyone who participated under that call and or Skeeter number.  And remember to send pictures of your group for the soapbox!

Suggested Call – Either CQ QRP or CQ BZZ

Exchange –
Skeeter Stations – RST, S/P/C, Skeeter number
Non-Skeeter Stations – RST, S/P/C, Output power

Modes – CW, SSB (new for this year!)
Power – 5W max CW, 10 Watts max SSB

Scoring –
Working a Skeeter Station – 2 points
Working a non-Skeeter Station – 1 point
Work a WAE station – 3 points  – Yes! The Worked All Europe contest (CW) is the same day – working DX stations (different continent) will get you extra points!

Total score equals the number of QSO points times the number of S/P/Cs worked on all bands (stations can be worked on multiple bands for QSO points and S/P/C credit) times the multiplier for station class. For example, if you work W2LJ on 20 and 40 Meters, it counts as 2 QSOs and NJ counts for a S/P/C on each band.

Bonus points – An extra 500 points can be added to your score if you operate near a lake, stream, river, pond, beach, etc. as stated above  Please send a photo of your set up, along with your log submission in order to claim points.

Suggested frequencies:
The QRP “Watering Holes”

For CW
80 Meters ~ 3.560 MHz
40 Meters ~ 7.040 and 7.030 MHz – also consider using from 7.114 to 7.122 MHz for a “slower” speed CW area.  We want to have everyone involved!
20 Meters ~ 14.060 MHz
15 Meters ~ 21.060 MHz
10 Meters ~ 28.060 MHz

For SSB
80 Meters ~ 3.985 MHz
40 Meters ~ 7.285 MHz
20 Meters ~ 14.285 MHz
15 Meters ~ 21.385 MHz
10 Meters ~ 28.885 MHz

These are suggested starting points, of course. Feel free to spread out and give your “Skeeter” wings a chance to do their thing.

Categories: CW Only and SSB Only, or Mixed Operating will be considered separate categories. Please indicate with your log summary which category you are participating as.

Log summaries, photos and soapbox comments can be sent to [email protected] no later than 14 days after the event.  Certificates will be issued to the top scorers of each category as well as others to be determined. Here’s an example of a summary that should be used:

Larry – W2LJ – NJ
Skeeter #4 – All CW
Skeeter QSOs – 23
Non-Skeeter QSOs – 5
DX QSOs – (if any)
S/P/Cs – 18
Station Class Multiplier X4
Claiming Bonus – No

If you send me all that information, I will figure out your score for you.

Hope to hear and work all of you during this year’s event. Special thanks to the NJQRP club for their sponsorship!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

From Sean KX9X:

From Dave NK0E:

From N6NA:

I submitted my meager little log today along with SoapBox and photos.  If you participated, please don’t hesitate to submit your entry. Click here to get to the QRPTTF page, where you can find summary sheets in .doc and .pdf formats.  As Paul states, “Thanks to all who participated this year and hope you all had fun, regardless of band conditions (not that great) or whether you worked 5 or 50 stations.”

So I repeat, please don’t hesitate to send in your log and summary, even if you only had 1, or 5, 25, 50 or 100 contacts.  Nothing warms the cockles of the organizer’s heart like seeing a bunch of logs come in!  It’s not extra work.  It’s affirmation that fun is being had by all; and that it’s worth it to repeat the event the next year.

And speaking of events, look for the official announcement concerning the upcoming 2013 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt here tomorrow and on all the QRP e-mail reflectors.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

It’s just about 11:00 PM and the day is almost done. It was a busy one!  After this blog post is finished, then I am finished too!  I will head upstairs to hit the sack.

The day started off with a visit to the Doctor’s office.  Nothing serious, just some blood work as my cholesterol was just a tad on the high side when I saw him last autumn,  He wanted a follow up visit in six months, and today was the day.  Before I left however, my lawn mower repair guy called and said my mower was fixed and ready to pick up.  That was good news; but I really wasn’t expecting it until Monday.

After getting my arm stuck at the Dr’s office, I came home for a quick lunch. Then I packed up the car with my radio gear and went to pick up the mower.  On the way home, I headed off to Thomas Edison Memorial Park for a few hours of QRPTTFing.  I was surprised when I got there.  This what the memorial tower usually looks like:

My surprise was that I knew the tower was being refurbished.  But for some reason, I thought all the work had been completed.  It turns out that so far, only the accompanying museum has been refurbished.  This is what the tower currently looks like.  It should be finished sometime later this year or perhaps early 2014.

And in accordance with the QRPTTF theme for 2013, I was only a block away from NJ Route 27, which is officially part of the Lincoln Highway, America’s first intercontinental highway – definitely an historic trail.

OK – so here’s the deal.  I mentioned that I wanted to come up with a drive-on support that will allow me to use my Jackite pole as a support for wire antennas for portable non-hike type ops.  What I used to use, when I had my Buddipole, was a 4 foot plank of oak.  I bought a threaded piece of 2″ pipe and a pipe flange.  I secured the pipe flange into the plank with screws.  When I got to a suitable spot, I would drive onto the plank, screw the pipe into the flange and drop the painter’s pole that I was using as a mast into the pipe.  Viola’ – instant Buddipole support!

The problem is the Jackite pole is a way bigger diameter than the painter’s pole – 2 3/4″ in diameter compared to less that 2″ in diameter for the painter’s pole.  The biggest diameter iron pipe that Home Depot had in small, pre-cut, pre-threaded pieces was 2″.  Not gonna work.

So I took my 4 foot plank of oak and cut it into two, more or less equal sized pieces.

Then using hinges, I reverted it back into a single 4 foot plank.  Seems silly doesn’t it, at first hearing?

Ahhhhh …. but there’s a method to my madness, because now I have a vertical section as well as a horizontal section.

I added two “U” bolts to hold the Jackite pole.  And here’s what it looks like “in action”.

Two things remain to be done. First, I want to replace the hex nuts on the “U” bolts with wing nuts.  This will make it easier to tighten and loosen in the field.  Secondly, I need some sort of “support strut” between the horizontal and vertical components.  I am not sure what to use. A strut like you would find in an old style attache case or an equipment case would be ideal; but I don’t know where you’d even go about buying case parts.  The only other thing that I can think of is buying a piece of aluminum stock and fashioning my own custom “strut”.  Anchor it on one member with a screw and allow it to swing, and cut or file a “hook” into the other end and let that come to rest on a screw inserted into the other member.

I don’t want to take a chance that a gust of wind could catch this and then either blow it back onto the Jeep or even worse, out to the side (taking radios and equipment with it!).

The easy answer is to just screw a shelf bracket in place.  But that would make this thing a permanent “L”. Right now it folds down onto itself, forming a nice 2 foot long piece that fits in the back of the Jeep quite nicely, not taking up a lot of space.  I definitely want this to fold for easy storage, but yet be strong and stable enough when deployed so that there will be no worries.

Any ideas?

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!